Valiente Latin jazz

Latin Beat Magazine, April, 2004 by Louis Laffitte

On December 30, 1965, in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York, another talent was added to the world of music with the birth of Jessica Valiente. Raised in New Jersey, she leads one of New York's most unique Latin jazz bands; one that has diligently worked at achieving its own identity. After witnessing a performance by this young ensemble, one immediately identifies with the fresh approach to a genre that produces more Latin jazz groups than venues willing to accommodate them.

Valiente's first instrument was the recorder, purchased by her parents John Mariano and Candida Luisa Amataya. "Mostly jazz and classical was listened to at home. My parents went to all the jazz clubs when they were growing up. Every Thursday or Friday, they were at the 'Five Spot.' My father had a tremendous jazz collection; my mother is very much into classical. Latin music was mostly heard when the family came over on Christmas holidays. My mother is front the Dominican Republic, so we heard a lot of merengue, but her father (my grandfather) is from Puerto Rico, so we also heard salsa. My dad listened to all kinds of stuff, mostly jazz but also different things from Jamaica and South Africa, Irish folk music, as well as rock music like Janis Joplin, Eric Clapton, the Stones, a lot of Santana. If one of us wasn't practicing, the stereo was on."

In school, Jessica wanted to play violin, but her mother suggested the flute since she was already familiar with the recorder. She Became a serious musician at a young age. School orchestras, marching bands, pit orchestras, even renaissance magicals followed, as well as some back-up singing in "a couple of rock hands, but that was more like dabbling. I never went very far with that." At the age of 11, Jessica played the recorder for a high school rock concert for which she was paid $35 dollars. "My dad was a saxophone player and I tried learning clarinet and saxophone, and I just hated it. I felt like my head was going to explode. I knew that wasn't the ticket. My mother would say 'You should play Latin music.' I grew up in the '70s and to me, Latin music was for horns--trumpets, trombones. I wasn't exposed much to Pacheco, Fajardo. None of that."

Her husband, trombonist Rick Faulkner (one of Latin music's exciting young trombonists), would later turn Jessica on to Latin music by way of charanga. He played some José Fajardo and Belisario López for her. She was 28 and with the help of good friend and flautist Héctor Hieves, she became even more familiar with charanga and Latin jazz. Intense study of the works of Johnny Pacheco, Dave Valentín and Mauricio Smith (the late Panamanian flautist) followed.

"The understanding of the vocabulary of the flute was something of an undertaking. It was something I could grasp. Sometimes when you listen to yourself you don't really think about whom you sound like, you try not to play any wrong notes. I think the consummate flute player who combined the traditional charanga sound with lots of great rhythmic factors but still with bebop tradition and a deep understanding of harmony was Mauricio Smith."

Valiente also studied the works of a famous Cuban flautist, the late Alberto Socarrás. Socarrás was a prominent jazz musician in the 1930s and a pioneer of Latin music in New York who taught music as well. Frank Wess was her biggest influence in jazz. Then, Valiente joined band-leader/timbalero Orlando Marín's group for a year (between '97 and '98).

"I guess Marín liked my playing and he said, 'I need to replace Mauricio Smith.' Those are pretty big shoes to fill. So I did a few gigs where he brought me in while Mauricio was actually playing and I got to sit in. Then he started to call me for gigs that Mauricio couldn't make.

Most of the time Orlando used me, he wasn't using any other horns, just flute. That's where I met Willie Rodriguez. He was playing with Orlando much longer than I. We both left the band around the same time. I learned you don't just get to play the flute and cowbell. You play, sing and by the way, you have to dance. Marín told me, 'I pay you to show up on time, wear black, dance and smile.' I had a chance to really learn all those classics. It was a very valuable experience.

"When I met my husband Rick he had done all this work with great salsa bands and a lot of arranging. He plays bass as well as trombone, so I brought him onboard.

"Yasuyo (congas) and I met when we were students at Boy's Harbor. I met Anna (bass) at a jam session. They were doing a bossa or something and Anna was right on it, so she really knew tumbao, studying with (bassist) Guillermo Edgehill. We got together in '95 when the band was formed. We were the core of the band. We went through a few piano players early on before we found Willie (Rodríguez) and I was reluctant to get a timbal player for a while because we wanted to do some small gigs. The bigger the band, the harder it is to book it."

During these musical changes and going from chamber music to jazz ensemble, Valiente experienced both the trials and tribulations of being a professional musician plus the highs and lows of her personal life. Two such low points were the death of a pianist friend and when her father became seriously ill. "I didn't want to play. I even considered going into nursing, but at some point I knew I couldn't get enthusiastic about it. I knew I had to go back to music. I really threw myself into it 100 percent. It took a while. I struggled to try and learn jazz.